A keen poster over at NeoGAF noticed some Wi-Fi activity for two games that are known to be offline-only games: Nintendogs and Yoshi's Island.

The poster has reported about six Wi-Fi connections made for Nintendogs last Saturday, while Yoshi's Island clocked in with four Wi-Fi connections last Friday and Saturday. How can he tell? It has something to do with checking out the game code (found on the cart), and comparing it to the Wi-Fi chart in Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection site. Specific details on how to do it can be found in the Via link.

Nintendogs and Yoshi's Island on Wi-Fi? Certainly a very interesting prospect. Swap cute puppies over the Nintendo Wi-fi Connection! Interact with friends in minigames in a Yoshi's Island title! The possibilities are quite...shall we say, endless. 

More updates as they come!

Portable video game consoles appear to reign once again, as we bring in last week's hardware sales in Japan. Reports show that Yoshi's Island 2 for the DS leads the pack with a little over 300,000 sales in its first week in Japan, while the rest of the top ten is dotted by other DS games like Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.

The reports also show Japan's mecha fever has simmered down considerably, with Gundam Musou (PlayStation 3) and Super Robot Wars W now lowered to seventh and fifth place respectively. On the plus side for PSP fans, the previously record-breaking game Monster Hunter Portable 2 holds fast to its place among the chart's top ten, at a little more than 90,000 units sold for last week alone.

As for the week's console sales, the Wii led the pack with 44,495 consoles sold, followed by the PlayStation 3 (32,115), the PlayStation 2 (14,585), and the Xbox 360 (3333).

1. Yoshi's Island DS: 303,114 (DS)
2. Monster Hunter Portable 2: 93,099 (PSP)
3. Layton Kyoujo no Fushigi na Machi: 45,344 (DS)
4. Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle: 42,131 (PS2)
5. Super Robot Taisen W: 36,310 (DS)
6. Wii Sports: 35,298 (Wii)
7. Gundam Musou: 31,145 (PS3)
8. Dragon Quest Monsters – Joker: 26,452 (DS)
9. Wii Play: 26,340 (Wii)
10. Motto Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training: 20,716 (DS)

Yoshi's Island DS has been around in North America and Europe for some time now (since November last year in fact). In Japan though, the title is yet to hit the shelves on March 8 - which we found a bit intriguing.

Anyway, the babies (Mario, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Peach) are back together with the lovable Yoshi as they take an adventure to save the kidnapped Baby Luigi (for a change). Each baby lends a different ability to Yoshi to effectively beat the notorious flower fiends and other nasty critters.

There hasn't been any news regarding what comes next after Yoshi's Island - plus the confirmation on its being ported to the Wii. Anyway, here's a load full of screenshots plus some character art for those who haven't gotten the game yet and the peeps over in Japan.

More screens await after the jump!

Baby Mario's back, and of course, with trusted Yoshi along for the adventure. This time, we have here for you the Antics gameplay video for Yoshi's Island 2.

The classic flower-fiends are still there, and they're still out to make a snack out of you if you get too close. Have your fill of the gold coins littered about, and you can bet it's not gonna be a breeze plucking them one by one. Of course, Baby Mario isn't the only one around for some sweet ride atop Yoshi. Babies Wario, Peach, and Donkey Kong are also here, so this will surely be one great adventure.

Anyway, the video can be viewed below, so you can just check it out and see for yourself. Also, we have the downloadable file right here, for you.

Enjoy!

Download: [Yoshi's Island: Antics gameplay vid]

We couldn't help but have our tongue lolling when we chanced upon this rumor. While Yoshi's Island DS is piggy-backing across North America and will soon follow onto Europe come December, the producer for the Yoshi Island franchise was recently questioned by Nintendo of Europe. Toyokazu Nonaka was asked about the controls for the DS title, and before you know it, they were talking about the Wiimote.

With the Yoshi's Island gameplay of sticking tongues out, laying dino-eggs, and running after babies floating away in bubbles, it was inevitable that they'd talk about how it could be a hit in the Wii. What transpired? Check this out...

Nintendo of Europe: Were some of the people involved in the original SNES game also involved in the DS version?

Toyokazu Nonaka: Yes, they were. The members who supervised level design, graphics, and sound at Nintendo's side were people who were also involved in the original Yoshi game. And Mr. Tezuka was one of them.

NoE: A big new addition to the gameplay is the use of abilities of the different babies. Would you say that you've made a "strategic platform game" by making this such an important gameplay element?

TN: Yes, you could say that. In this game, when you change baby characters, a strategic element kicks in, and more puzzle solving intellect will be required in many cases. But, here too, it's not outrageously difficult to play, so don't let it scare you off!

NoE: The gameplay mechanic of sticking out Yoshi’s tongue and shooting eggs at different areas of the screen is something that would really lend itself well to the Wii Remote. Are there any plans for Yoshi's Island Wii?

TN: Any plans for Yoshi's Island on Wii? Well, I think I will keep that a secret for now!

"A secret for now?" Could that mean that they're actually already planning it? There is some reason to believe in this though. They already have the stage set. As he said, he's got the Yoshi's Island team already assembled for the DS version. It's going to be easier for them to continue this momentum and hop onto the Wii, right?

Keep on your toes, folks! We'll bring you guys more info as soon as the eggs hatch!

We have here the U.S. TV ad for Yoshi's Island 2 for the DS. It's absolutely short. And sweet. With only 14 seconds to encapsulate and convey the fun-factor of the game, this ad certainly made it work.

Anyway, it's been almost a week since the game's hit store shelves. So if you still haven't got one yet, then maybe this ad will help you decide if you're gonna buy a copy or not. It's nothing mind-blowing, nor spectacular. It just simply shows Yoshi and his friends taking on some bubble-gum colored adventure that will surely appeal to the kid in you. No harm in checking it out.

If you're a fan of all things Mario, then here are a few gameplay details of Artoon's Yoshi's Island DS that the nice folks of Go Nintendo were able to get from the Yoshi breakfast event.

According to them, everything that was in the original Yoshi's Island has made a return. A big change is the inclusion of new playable characters. This time, aside from baby Mario, Yoshi can get help from baby Peach, baby Wario, and baby Donkey Kong. Through the course of a level you will run into a sign that lets you switch babies.

The ability to switch babies and the fact that each baby has a unique ability leads to entertaining gameplay sequences. Baby Wario's got his magnet to collect coins, baby Donkey Kong can use his strength (swing from vines and stuff) to help Yoshi get around, and Peach has her umbrella.

A nice example of the switch affecting gameplay would be in the second stage in the demo. There are sections there that have gusts of wind blowing through them. Baby Mario can't do anything about them, but if you switch to baby Peach, you can jump into the wind tunnel and have her open her umbrella and carry you high into the air.

Sometimes you have to switch to get through a stage, and sometimes you don't need to, and a lot of times switching can help you find the "secret stuff" in the level.

Another gameplay addition is the presence of character specific coins. Hidden within each level are coins that have the faces of each playable character, you can't get full completion without having found these coins first. A nice place to start looking for them is in the tunnels you can get to via the many "travel pipes" (a classic Mario feature, and a nice throwback to the first few Mario titles) in the game.

That's that. It may not be breaking news as some of you may be feverishly following the development of this game, at least this could serve as confirmation from a source that was there.

We have just gotten more details and screens about Yoshi's Island 2, and from what we've seen so far (we have cartloads of screens here), Artoon seems to be doing a good job in developing the game.

As for what the game's plot will be, we just heard that Baby Mario won't be playing alone in the sandbox, because Baby DK, Wario, and Peach will be joining him in the said game. Mind you, these babies roles won't be a minimal one as each baby will function as Yoshi's power-booster, with each baby giving Yoshi different specific powers.

For example, Yoshi will get extra speed when Mario is on his back while Peach will give him the ability to fly. We have no word yet on how Wario will boost Yoshi's power, but what we do know is that DK will serve as Yoshi's strength booster. As in the first title under the same name, Yoshi will be doing all of his trademark egg-throwing, ground pounding, flutter jumping and vehicle morphing moves.

So what exactly is Yoshi's mission? He, with the help of the babies, will try to rescue Luigi from kidnapper Kamek. Kamek attempted to kidnap all of the babies when they were hanging out on Yoshi's Island, but luckily, Baby Mario, Peach, DK, and Wario were able to escape. Luigi however, wasn't that successful. So they all join forces and set out to rescue poor Luigi. The game won't be hitting shelves until November 13, so while waiting, why don'tcha get a fill of these two new screens we have for you and rest assured we'll keep you posted for more updates.

 

Pre-Order: [Yoshi's Island 2]

A bunch of new screens from Yoshi's Island 2 have surfaced and the game's looking as good as ever. Artoon is developing the long-awaited sequel to one of the best 16-bit Jump' n runs. They work in close cooperation with Nintendo, so that the level of quality is retained. So far, the game seems to have all of the feats that made it's predecessor so great - unique, quirky level design and vivid cartoon visuals. The fact that it's part of the beloved Mario series doesn't hurt either.

Nintendo will release Yoshi's Island 2 on November 13.

More Yoshi's Island 2 screens after the jump!

Yoshi's Island 2 will not be hitting the DS until November 13th, but that hasn't stopped Nintendo from releasing more screenshots of the upcoming platformer. The game's story starts off as a mysterious floating island suddenly appears over peaceful Yoshi's Island. Soon after its arrival, a gaggle of kids vanishes from the island school. Baby Mario, Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong manage to avoid being kidnapped so Yoshi and the three young superstars must set out on a wild and colorful quest to rescue the kids and investigate the ominous island hovering overhead. Go ahead and check out the new screenshots by clicking on the thumbnails below.